Open top container and roof cover thereof

ABSTRACT

A roof cover of an open top container, includes: a frame; a front cover plate having a first end fixed to the frame, and an opposite second end extending over the top end rail, the front cover plate further being formed with openings corresponding to front rain gutters; a front water-blocking plate provided at an edge of each of the openings; a rear cover plate having a first end fixed to a rear end of the frame and an opposite second end extending over the door header; and a roof panel spreading over the frame and overlapping the front and rear cover plates. The roof cover which is easy to manufacture endues the current open top container a suitable protection against theft and watertightness.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an open top container and a roof coverthereof, more particularly, to an improved design to the tarpaulin roofof the current open top container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The current open top container defined by ISO930 is manufacturedaccording to the current international standard of ISO1496/1. Such acontainer is open in the top, and belongs to a common transportationequipment. Generally, an open top container is used to conveylarge-scale machineries. In use, the top of the container is coveredwith a waterproof tarpaulin. The tarpaulin is supported by a detachablecarrier on the container body, and the periphery of the waterprooftarpaulin is secured to steel cable fasteners on the container body.Since the top corner fittings of the container body may not be coveredby the tarpaulin, in order to ensure watertightness around the topcorner fittings, usually a rain gutter for collecting external fluidsand preventing external fluids from entering the interior of thecontainer body is mounted around each of the top corner fittings. Fourcorners of the tarpaulin are connected to rain gutters, and thus thewater falling onto the tarpaulin may be induced into the rain gutters,and then be discharged out of the container body. Although the abovementioned technique has been very matured, there are still someshortcomings to be overcome. For example, the tarpaulin cover of such anopen top container does not provide adequate protection against theft,and the tarpaulin is liable to be damaged which will degrade itswatertightness. All these shortcomings will definitely deteriorate theoverall performance of the open top container especially when used as acontainer for conveying dry goods.

CONTENT OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide an open top containerand a roof cover thereof, which could overcome the above saidshortcomings in protection against theft, watertightness andvulnerability of the type of the current open top containers takingwaterproof tarpaulin as its roof cover. On the premise of no change tothe structure of the current open top container body, the presentinvention provides a container which could be used either in connectionwith a tarpaulin roof cover or a steel-made roof cover, thereby fullyensuring the performance of the open top container in conveying drygoods.

According to an aspect of the present invention, it is provided a roofcover of an open top container for covering a container body of the opentop container, the container body comprising front rain gutters providedat its front portion and rear rain gutters provided at its rear portion,said front and rear rain gutters being used to collect external fluidsand guide external fluids out of the container body, each of said frontand rear rain gutters comprising a base plate and an upright wallarranged along at least an intra-container boundary of the base, whereinthe roof cover includes: a frame supported on the container body; afront cover plate provided at a front portion of the frame, the frontcover plate having a first end fixed to a front end of the frame and anopposite second end extending forwards over a top end rail of thecontainer body, the front cover plate further being formed with anopening at a region thereof corresponding to each of said front raingutters so as to expose the upright wall of each front rain gutter; afront water-blocking plate provided at an edge of each of the openingsof the front cover plate, the front water-blocking plate comprising ahorizontally extending portion to cover a top surface of the uprightwall and prevent external fluids from entering an interior of thecontainer body via a clearance between the upright wall of the frontrain gutter and the front cover plate; a rear cover plate provided at arear portion of the frame, the rear cover plate having a first end fixedto a rear end of the frame and an opposite second end extendingbackwards over a door header of the container body, the rear cover plateat least partly covering the door header and the rear rain gutters; anda roof panel spreading over the frame and overlapping at least a portionof the front cover plate and at least a portion of the rear cover plate.

Preferably, the roof cover further comprises front skirt plates providedat side edges of the front water-blocking plate and extending downwardsso as to allow guiding external fluids on the front water-blocking platein a downward direction.

Preferably, the roof cover further comprises rear skirt plates providedat side edges of the rear cover plate and extending downwards so as toallow external fluids to either flow in the longitudinal direction ofthe container body and flow along the rear cover plate and over the doorheader and the rear rain gutter and then to be discharged out of thecontainer body, or flow in the transverse direction of the containerbody and flow along the rear cover plate and to be discharged out of thecontainer body.

Preferably, the frame comprises two longitudinal beams and a pluralityof transverse beams each of which is perpendicular to the twolongitudinal beams and is connected to the two longitudinal beams atboth ends.

Preferably, each of the longitudinal beams is supported on a top siderail of the container body, and a sealing member is provided in acontact region between each longitudinal beam and corresponding top siderail.

Preferably, each of the longitudinal beams has a U-shaped cross sectionadapted to match with a profile of the top side rail in a nestingmanner.

Preferably, said front rain gutters are provided at both ends of the topend rail, and said upright wall of said front rain gutter has anL-shaped profile when viewed from the top. Preferably, said front coverplate has a T-shaped profile when viewed from the top, a horizontalportion of “T” being arranged inside the container, a vertical portionof “T” extending forwards over the top end rail.

Preferably, said rear rain gutters are provided at both ends of the doorheader.

Preferably, the rear cover plate generally has a Z-shaped verticalprofile consist of a lower horizontal portion, a vertical portion and anupper horizontal portion. The lower horizontal portion has an end fixedto the rear end of the frame and at least partly overlapped by the roofpanel, and from said end the lower horizontal portion extends backwardsin a horizontal direction to a certain position and then turns to extendupwards to form the vertical portion. The vertical portion extendssubstantially in a vertical direction or in parallel with the uprightwall, and extends to a position higher than the top surface of theupright wall, and then turns to extend outwards in a horizontaldirection to form the upper horizontal portion. The upper horizontalportion extends over the door header.

Preferably, sealing members are provided in contact portions between thefront cover plate and the top end rail, and between the rear cover plateand the door header.

Preferably, the roof cover further comprises a plurality of hinged flapsprovided on side surfaces of the frame, each hinged flap being adaptedto be engaged with a steel cable fastener provided on the container bodyso as to form a closure assembly in conformity with TIR (TransportInternational Routier, herein referred as “TIR”).

Preferably, the roof cover further comprises at least one liftingassembly each of which comprises a ring member to be coupled with alifting apparatus for lifting the roof cover, and a supporting member bywhich the ring member is pivotally connected to the roof cover.

Preferably, the frame, the roof panel, the front cover plate and therear cover plate are all made of steel.

According to another aspect of the present invention, it is provided anopen top container comprising the roof cover mentioned above.

The structures of the open top container and its roof cover according tothe present invention are simple and easy to manufacture. Compared witha tarpaulin roof cover used in current open top container, thesteel-made roof cover according to present invention has a higherstrength. In combination with TIR closure assemblies, the roof coveralso provides suitable protection against theft. The improved structurecombined with the sealing members ensures a better watertightnessbetween the longitudinal beam and the top side rail, between the frontcover plate and the top end rail, and between the rear cover plate andthe door header. A lifting assembly enables a convenient lifting andinstalling operation of the roof cover by a commonly used crane, whichthereby remarkably increases the usability and application scope of theopen top containers, making it possible to convey not only large scalemachineries but also common dry goods. Tarpaulin can also be used as theroof cover when the requirements of protection against theft andwatertightness are not so high. Therefore, the present inventionpossesses good future application prospects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of a roof cover of an open top container accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 1 a is a top view of the front rain gutter shown at the right lowercorner of FIG. 1;

FIG. 1 b is a top view of the rear rain gutter shown at the left lowercorner of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged sectional view taken along line A-A ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged sectional view taken along line B-B ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged sectional view taken along line C-C ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic view of part E of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged schematic view of the hinged flap and the steelcable fastener in FIG. 4, viewed in the direction of arrow D;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the lifting assembly of the roof cover ofthe open top container according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the longitudinal beam of the frame of theroof cover of the open top container according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a front view of the front cover plate of the roof cover of theopen top container according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a side view of the front cover plate of the roof cover of theopen top container according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a front view of the rear cover plate of the roof cover of theopen top container according to the present invention; and

FIG. 12 is a side view of the rear cover plate of the roof cover of theopen top container according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be now describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

Firstly, it should be noted that the roof cover of the open topcontainer according to present invention is designed to match with anopen top container manufactured in accordance with the currentinternational standard of ISO1496/1. Therefore, the length and width ofthe tope cover respectively are in accordance with those of thecontainer body of the conventional open top container.

Herein, the end adjacent to the top end rail of the container isreferred as a “front” end, and accordingly the opposite end, i.e. theend adjacent to the door header of the container is referred as a “rear”end. Therefore, a “front and rear direction” mentioned herein means thedirection from the top end rail to the door header, or vice versa, whichalso could be referred as a “longitudinal” direction of the container.Correspondingly, a “left-right direction” is a transverse direction ofthe container, i.e. a direction horizontally perpendicular to the abovesaid “front and rear direction”.

The roof cover of the open top container according to the presentinvention will be described hereinafter.

The roof cover according to the present invention comprises a frame, aroof panel and two cover plates. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 8, theframe includes two parallel longitudinal beams 1 made of channel steeland a series of transverse beams 2 each of which is perpendicular to thetwo longitudinal beams 1 and is connected to the two beams at both ends,by means of welding for example. Each of the longitudinal beams 1 has ageneral U-shaped cross section (as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 8) adaptedto encase or embrace the top side rail 6 of the container body in anested manner. Since mounting seats 18 for mounting therein metalsupporting bars used to install a tarpaulin are provided on the innersides of the top side rail 6 (as shown in FIG. 4), the longitudinal beamshall have a width substantially equal to or slightly larger than thetotal width of the top side rail 6 and the mounting seat 18 so as tomatch with the top side rail 6 in said nested manner.

The two cover plates include a front cover plate 4 and a rear coverplate 5, which are provided at the front portion and the rear portion ofthe frame respectively. One side of the front cover plate 4 is securedto the front end of the frame, by welding or screwing for example, andanother side opposite to said one side extends forward over the top endrail 14 and is preferably supported by the beam 14. Similarly, one sideof the rear cover plate 5 is secured to the rear end of the frame, bywelding or screwing for example, and another side opposite to said oneside extends backward over the door header 9 and is preferably supportedby the door header 9. FIG. 9 to FIG. 12 illustrate preferred profiles ofthe front cover plate 4 and the rear cover plate 5, in which FIGS. 9 and10 are respectively a front view and a side view of the front coverplate 4; and FIGS. 11 and 12 are respectively a front view and a sideview of the rear cover plate 5. The front and rear cover plates 4 and 5will be further described hereinafter.

A roof panel 3 spreads over the frame and fixed to the same, for exampleby welding or screwing, and overlaps at least the end portions of thefront and rear cover plates 4 and 5 (as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3). Theroof panel 3 may be a roof panel commonly used in the dry freightcontainer (or “container for conveying dry goods”).

Hereinafter, the front cover plate 4 as well as the members related toit will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 a andFIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, there are usually two front rain gutters 13 providednear the front top corner fittings of the open top container body. Thetwo front rain gutters 13 are respectively positioned at left and rightends of the top end rail 14 in the top view of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1 a and FIG. 2, each of the front rain gutters 13generally includes a base plate 13 a substantially in a flat plateshape, and an upright wall 13 b provided at least along a portion of theboundary of the base plate 13 a which lies in the interior of thecontainer body when viewed from the top (hereinafter referred as“intra-container boundary”). The upright wall 13 b is arranged to ensurethat external fluids falling onto the base plate 13 a can only flowtowards extra-container boundary (i.e. the boundary located out of thecontainer body when viewed from the top) of the front rain gutter 13 andcan not flow into the interior of the container body. As shown in FIG. 1a, preferably, the base plate 13 a of the front rain gutter 13 generallyhas a rectangular profile, and two outer edges of the rectangle arealigned with the corner edges of the container body. The upright wall 13b is provided along the two inner edges of the rectangular base plateand has an L-shaped profile when viewed from the top.

Generally, the upright wall 13 b of the front rain gutter 13 will extendupwards beyond the top surface of the top side rail 6 and also beyondthe front cover plate 4. Therefore, the front cover plate 4 is formedwith openings 40A and 40B in regions corresponding to the upright wall13 b, as shown in FIG. 9, so as to prevent the front cover plate 4 frombeing interfered by the upright wall 13 b when mounting the roof cover.Referring to FIGS. 1 and 9, preferably, the front cover plate 4 isshaped like a letter “T”. The horizontal portion of “T” is arrangedinside of the container. The vertical portion of “T” extends forwards tothe outside of the top end rail 14 and is preferably supported by thesame. Said openings 40A and 40B are formed at both sides of the verticalportion so as to leave the upright wall 13 b emerged from the frontcover plate 4.

In this way, in the horizontal direction, a clearance may be formedbetween the upright wall 13 b and the front cover plate 4. Thus, when aregion between the upright 13 b and the front cover 4 is subjected toexternal fluids, such as especially rain water, it is possible for saidexternal fluids to enter the interior of the container body via theclearance.

To prevent the entering of external fluids into the interior of thecontainer body via the clearance between the upright wall 13 b and thefront cover plate 4, a front water-blocking plate 19 for preventingexternal fluids from entering into the interior of the container via theclearance is provided along the edge of each of the openings of thefront cover plate 4. Preferably, the front water-blocking plate 19 has avertical profile shown in FIG. 2. That is, the front water-blockingplate 19 firstly extends upwards to an appropriate height and thenextends horizontally to cover the top surface of the upright wall 13 bof the front rain gutter 13. In addition, the end portion of thehorizontally extending portion of the front water-blocking plate 19 mayslightly bend downwards so as to facilitate guiding the fluids on thetop surface of the plate 19 into the front rain gutter 13.

By means of its horizontally extending portion, the front water-blockingplate 19 covers the upright wall 13 b when viewed from the top, and thuscan prevent external fluids especially rain water falling verticallyfrom entering into the interior of the container body. For the preferredsituation shown in FIG. 1, the front water-blocking plate 19 generallyhas an L-shaped profile corresponding to that of the upright wall 13 b,when viewed from the top. Preferably, the front water-blocking plate 19is designed so that the bottom surface of its horizontally extendingportion nearly contacts the top surface of the upright wall 13 b so asto achieve a better watertightness. Also, in order to obtain a betterwatertightness, as shown in FIG. 2, a sealing member 11 may be providedbetween the bottom surface of the horizontally extending portion of thefront water-blocking plate 19 and the top surface of the upright wall 13b. In this way, external fluids falling onto the front portion of theroof cover, such as rain water, could either be directly discharged outof the container body via the front cover plate 4, or firstly flow intothe front rain gutter 13 via the front water-blocking plate 19 and inturn be discharged out of the container body.

In order to further ensure that the fluids falling onto the frontwater-blocking plate 19 won't enter the container body via side edges ofthe front water-blocking plate 19, front skirt plates 15 extendingdownwards are respectively provided at side edges of the frontwater-blocking plate 19, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 2,each of the skirt plates 15 is preferably an L-shaped skirt plateextended from side edges of the front water-blocking plate 19.

Hereinafter, the rear cover plate 5 as well as the members related to itwill be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 b and FIG.3.

As shown in FIG. 1, two rear rain gutters 10 are provided near the reartop corner fittings of the open top container body. The two rear raingutters 10 are respectively positioned at left and right ends of thedoor header 9 when viewed from the top.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 1 b and FIG. 3, each of the rear raingutters 10 also includes a base plate 10 a substantially in a flat plateshape, and a generally upright wall 10 b provided at least along aportion of the boundary of the base plate 10 a which lies in theinterior of the container body when viewed from the top.

Since the height of the door header 9 is usually higher than that of theupright wall 10 b of the rear rain gutter 10, the rear cover plate 5 maygenerally have a Z-shaped vertical profile as shown in FIG. 3 (alsoshown in FIG. 12) composed of three segments, i.e., a lower horizontalportion 5 a, a vertical portion 5 b and an upper horizontal portion 5 c.Particularly, the lower horizontal portion 5 a has an end fixed to therear end of the frame and at least partly overlapped by the roof panel3, and from the end the lower horizontal portion 5 a extends backwardsin a horizontal direction to a certain position and then turns to extendupwards to form the vertical portion 5 b. The vertical portion 5 bextends substantially in a vertical direction or in parallel with theupright wall 10 b, and extends to a position higher than the top surfaceof the upright wall 10 b, and then turns to extend outwards in ahorizontal direction to form the upper horizontal portion 5 c. Finally,the upper horizontal portion 5 c extends over the door header 9 and ispreferably supported by the same.

As shown in FIG. 1, rear skirt plates 16 are also provided at side edges(i.e. upper and lower edges shown in FIG. 1) of the rear cover plate 5.The rear skirt plate 16 has a function similar to that of the frontskirt plate 15, that is, to guide the fluid such as rain water whichflows in a transverse direction of the rear cover plate 5 out of thecontainer body and prevent the fluids from entering the interior of thecontainer body. Thus, external fluids such as rain water either flow inthe longitudinal direction of the container and flow along the rearcover plate 5 and flow over the door header 9 and the rear rain gutter10 and then are discharged out of the container body, or flow in thetransverse direction of the container and flow along the rear coverplate 5 and are discharged out of the container body.

To further ensure a good watertightness between the roof cover and thecontainer body, sealing members 11 may be provided at the contactregions between the bottom surface of the front cover plate 4 and thetop surface of the top end rail 14, and between the bottom surface ofthe rear cover plate 5 and the top surface of the door header 9.

As to the longitudinal beam 1 of the frame, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8,due to its U-shaped cross-section matched with the profile of the topside rail 6 of the container body, the longitudinal beam 1 may bereliably supported by the top side rail 6. In order to ensure a betterwatertightness between the roof cover and the container body, there isalso a seal member 11 mounted in the contact region between thelongitudinal beam 1 and the top side rail 6, for example, by means ofadhering.

In addition, a plurality of hinged flaps 7 is provided on side surfacesof the frame, for example, by welding. In use, each of the hinged flaps7 is firstly engaged with a steel cable fastener 8 mounted on thecontainer body, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, and then a steel cable isinserted through all steel cable fasteners 8, so as to form a closureassembly in accordance with TIR.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, at lease one lifting assembly isprovided on the side surface of the frame. Preferably, a plurality oflifting assemblies is provided. In the preferred embodiment shown inFIG. 7, each lifting assembly includes two supporting members 17 in theform of sleeves which are fixed to the frame by welding for example, anda ring member 12 which is inserted through the two supporting members 17with a clearance therebetween so as to be pivoted in the supportingmembers 17. In addition, in the case of a plurality of liftingassemblies, preferably, these lifting assemblies are symmetricallyarranged on both side surfaces of the frame. However, the liftingassemblies are not necessarily arranged in a symmetrical manner.

In use, after the roof cover is disposed on the container body, eachhinged flap 7 is engaged with corresponding steel cable fastener 8, andthen a steel cable in accordance with TIR is inserted through all steelcable fasteners 8 to interlock the roof cover and the container body, soas to assure a closure effect as well as protection against theft. Whenit is intended to upload/download goods via the top of the container,the steel cable may be removed, and then the hinged flap might beseparated from the engagement with the steel cable fastener 8.Consequently, the roof cover can be separated from the container body bylifting apparatus such as a crane, and then the uploading/downloading ofgoods could be performed.

As the roof cover of the open top container according to the presentinvention can be directly and conveniently utilized in connection withthe current open top containers, operators may install the roof coveronto the body of the open top container according to their needs so asto achieve a container with suitable protection against theft andwatertightness, thereby especially suitable for a long-distancetransportation. When the use of the roof cover is not necessary, theroof cover can be removed and a waterproof tarpaulin could be used tocover the container body instead. Since the roof cover may bemounted/dismounted easily whenever necessary, it has a highpracticability.

It should be obvious that changes to certain details of the preferredembodiment can be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention defined in the appended claims.

1. A roof cover of an open top container for covering a container bodyof the open top container, the container body comprising front raingutters provided at its front portion and rear rain gutters provided atits rear portion, said front and rear rain gutters being used to collectexternal fluids and guide external fluids out of the container body,each of said front and rear rain gutters comprising a base plate and anupright wall arranged along at least an intra-container boundary of thebase plate, wherein the roof cover includes: a frame supported on thecontainer body; a front cover plate provided at a front portion of theframe, the front cover plate having a first end fixed to a front end ofthe frame and an opposite second end extending forwards over a top endrail of the container body, the front cover plate further being formedwith an opening at a region thereof corresponding to each of said frontrain gutters so as to expose the upright wall of each front rain gutter;a front water-blocking plate provided at an edge of each of the openingsof the front cover plate, the front water-blocking plate comprising ahorizontally extending portion to cover a top surface of the uprightwall and prevent external fluids from entering an interior of thecontainer body via a clearance between the upright wall of the frontrain gutter and the front cover plate; a rear cover plate provided at arear portion of the frame, the rear cover plate having a first end fixedto a rear end of the frame and an opposite second end extendingbackwards over a door header of the container body, the rear cover atleast partly covering the door header and the rear rain gutters; and aroof panel spreading over the frame and overlapping at least a portionof the front cover plate and at least a portion of the rear cover plate.2. The roof cover of the open top container according to claim 1,further comprising front skirt plates provided at side edges of thefront water-blocking plate and extending downwards so as to allowguiding external fluids on the front water-blocking plate in a downwarddirection.
 3. The roof cover of the open top container according toclaim 1, further comprising rear skirt plates provided at side edges ofthe rear cover plate and extending downwards so as to allow externalfluids to either, in the longitudinal direction of the container body,flow along the rear cover plate and over the door header and the rearrain gutter and then to be discharged out of the container body; or, inthe transverse direction of the container body, flow along the rearcover plate and the rear skirt plates and then to be discharged out ofthe container body.
 4. The roof cover of the open top containeraccording to claim 1, wherein the frame comprises two longitudinal beamsand a plurality of transverse beams each of which is perpendicular tothe two longitudinal beams and is connected to the two longitudinalbeams at both ends.
 5. The roof cover of the open top containeraccording to claim 4, wherein each of the longitudinal beams issupported on a top side rail of the container body, and a sealing memberis provided in a contact region between each longitudinal beam andcorresponding the top side rail.
 6. The roof cover of the open topcontainer according to claim 5, wherein each of the longitudinal beamshas a U-shaped cross section adapted to match with a profile of the topside rail in a nesting manner.
 7. The roof cover of the open topcontainer according to claim 1, wherein said front rain gutters areprovided at both ends of the top end rail, and said upright wall of eachof said front rain gutters has an L-shaped profile when viewed from thetop.
 8. The roof cover of the open top container according to claim 7,wherein said front cover plate has a T-shaped profile when viewed fromthe top, a horizontal portion of “T” being arranged inside thecontainer, a vertical portion of “T” extending forwards over the top endrail.
 9. The roof cover of the open top container according to claim 1,wherein said rear rain gutters are provided at both ends of the doorheader.
 10. The roof cover of the open top container according to claim9, wherein the rear cover plate generally has a Z-shaped verticalprofile consist of a lower horizontal portion, a vertical portion and anupper horizontal portion, and wherein the lower horizontal portion hasan end fixed to the rear end of the frame and at least partly overlappedby the roof panel, and from said end the lower horizontal portionextends backwards in a horizontal direction to a certain position andthen turns to extend upwards to form the vertical portion; and thevertical portion extends substantially in a vertical direction or inparallel with the upright wall, and extends to a position higher thanthe top surface of the upright wall, and then turns to extend outwardsin a horizontal direction to form the upper horizontal portion; and theupper horizontal portion extends over the door header.
 11. The roofcover of the open top container according to claim 1, wherein sealingmembers are provided in contact portions between the front cover plateand the top end rail, and between the rear cover plate and the doorheader.
 12. The roof cover of the open top container according to claim1, further comprising a plurality of hinged flaps provided on sidesurfaces of the frame, each of the hinged flaps being adapted to beengaged with a steel cable fastener provided on the container body so asto form a closure assembly in conformity with TIR.
 13. The roof cover ofthe open top container according to claim 1, further comprising at leastone lifting assembly each of which comprises a ring member to be coupledwith a lifting apparatus for lifting the roof cover, and a supportingmember by which the ring member is pivotally connected to the roofcover.
 14. The roof cover of the open top container according to claim1, wherein the frame, the roof panel, the front cover plate and the rearcover plate are all made of steel.
 15. An open top container comprisingthe roof cover according to any one of the preceding claims.